Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first ten songs -- no substitutions, no mulligans, no ethnic cleansing, no awkward justifications of any guilty pleasures. Post your selections as a comment.
If you don't have an iPod, put your CD collection in a moving box, shake it around, and pick ten random albums. Also, rent a U-Haul and move to the new millenium. Apple has decreed that our entire musical identities will fit in a box smaller than an M16 magazine.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

WEEK OF MAY 28, 2006

1 Comments:

colleen. said...

1. 'Bad As They Seem' - HaydenOne of the many perks of being a big, fat radio station nerd in high school was that I could abscond with duplicate CDs. This wasn't particularly a gem of an album, but it was free and when you're angsty and 16, a song like 'Bad As They Seem' fills that particular need for slow-tempo, baritone whining about how nothing goes your way. Kind of like Stephin Merritt training wheels.

2. 'Heaven Hammer (Missing)' - BeckBeck remixed by Air? Yes, please! I've really been digging Guerolito this spring and I would argue (languidly, with an icy drink in hand) that this track is THE track. Perfection.

3. 'Pride (In the Name of Love)' - U2Ah, U2. Loved 'em when I was 12, anyway. Plus, Bono is the closest thing we have to a superhero these days. I'm always tickled by the uber-earnest U2 songs from the 80s, wailing on about this or that social injustice. This song is a perfect example of that. It's like 'Eye of the Tiger' with an agenda.

4. 'All Sparks' - EditorsI still haven't decided how I feel about Editors. A rote pastiche of Joy Division passed through an Interpol filter? Perhaps. Catchy and overwhelmingly danceable? Absofuckinglutely. Completely forgotten by the end of the decade? Most likely.

5. 'Rain' - the ClienteleWhen I was little, my aunt used to tell me a joke about a wide mouthed frog. I think of that joke each and every time I see the Clientele perform. Good stuff, though... doesn't pack much of a punch, but there's nothing wrong with a little melodic, psychadelic meandering.

7. 'If You Leave Me Now' - ChicagoGod, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to exhume my deepest, darkest skeletons on this very first shufflelog. Yes, I know it's whiney, schmaltzy, and... well, Chicago... but I won't apologize for it. This is one of those tunes that I derive a great, secret pleasure from singing along to alone in the car (also: Foreigner's 'I Want to Know What Love Is,' as if you couldn't have guessed...).

8. 'Gold' - Spandau BalletIn the 80s, there were two sorts of new wave music videos. Either they were completely surreal and abstract and had nothing whatsoever to do with the song... OR they provided a literal translation (an interprative dance, if you will) of every single lyric. The video for 'Gold' was of the latter. Plus, it totally ripped off every Duran Duran video ever by virtue of taking place in, like, Marrakesh or similar. You can imagine, I'm sure.

9. 'Chicago, New York' - the Aislers SetCamera Obscura did a cover of this song when I saw them last and it was absolute tweeness overload. But in a good way. I like the Aislers Set; they're definitely 60s pop but have enough modern sensibility to avoid turning into a retro act, like the Bees.